To Save a Lady
by TanteiKun1412
Summary: When Marinette gets her best friend akumitized, will she be able to overcome it alone? Or will a certain cat help her out in more ways then one. Rated T for alcohol and because I'm paranoid.
1. Chapter 1

" _I'm sorry, I can't do this today. I have to get going."_

He was denied, yet again, by his precious Ladybug. Chat Noir had asked her to go out before, and always been denied. Yet this time, it felt different. He thought, maybe once, she would accept his request and go out, even if only for a while. He sat on the roof, thinking of why she kept on rejecting him, why she wouldn't accept his request just one time. Chat Noir, a great superhero of Paris, had no idea what he could do. He just barely remembered being given a party invitation by one of his classmates, but ignored the thought. He just wanted to be alone.

Meanwhile, Marinette was getting ready for a party with all of her classmates. She still felt a bit guilty for being so harsh to her friend, but brushed off the thought. She was beyond excited, because her beautiful Adrien was going to be at the party. She finished picking out her outfit, a mid-length red skirt with a simple black top. A few moments later, her best friend, Alya, called.

"Girl, where are you?" She asked with a concerned tone in her voice. "Everyone is here, and this bash is amazing!"

Marinette did one final spin in the mirror, just to be sure she looked good, good enough even for Adrien. She picked up her phone and turned off the speaker, putting to her ear.

"Don't worry, Alya! I'm almost there. You said everyone was there? Even Adrien?!" Marinette's eyes lit up just saying his name. She was in love with him, after all. Adrien Agreste was the most perfect boy in Paris. Sparkling green eyes, luscious, almost floating blond hair, he was the major heartthrob of school.

Before Marinette was too excited, Alya cut in. "Actually, I don't see him yet. I'm sure he's coming though! He would never miss the New Year's party at Chloe's hotel." After reassuring her friend she was going to arrive any second, Marinette had her Kwami, Tikki, hide in her red clutch. Marinette sprinted out the door, in heels nonetheless, and headed down the block in the chill of the winter air.

-?-

Walking into the fanciest building in Paris, Marinette shed her warm winter coat and scanned the crowd for Adrien. Nothing. She sighed in defeat, but looked around in search of Alya. Suddenly, as she was looking towards the reception desk, her name was called from behind her.

"Yo, Mari! Where have you been?" Alya bound excitedly over to her bestie. "We've been waiting for you! I got huge news, girl." Alya's expression changed to something a bit more solem. "Adrien isn't going to be here."

Marinette gasped intensely, and staggered backward, knocking into Nino, who had a glass full of an orange liquid, possibly sparkling juice.

"Gah! Sorry, Nino. You know I'm a klutz…" Nino had quite the annoyed expression on his face, but tried to convince her it wasn't her fault.

"Eh, it's alright… There's not _too_ much on my suit, but my mom will be a bit upset." Marinette blushed a deep pink in embarrassment, and ran to the nearest bathroom, dragging Alya behind her.

"Oh my god, Alya. What's wrong with me! I've been here less than ten minutes and I'm already causing problems…"

Alya sympathetically patted Marinette's shoulder. "Hey, don't sweat it. The night's still young, and we can have plenty of fun! How about we find the DJ and get him to play your favorite song?"

Marinette turned away from Alya with mild disappointment. "What's the point? Adrien's not here, and you know that's the only reason I came to this party." Alya looked away from Marinette with a hurt expression on her face. It pained her to see her friend didn't care about anything except this _one_ boy. "I'm going to stay for a bit, but I'm not getting too attached to this party. I'll see you, Alya." Without another glance, Marinette swiftly left, leaving Alya alone in the bathroom. She sank to the floor and balled her fists in anger.

Hawkmoth stood as the light from the Parisian sky lit hit the floor of the dark lair, laughing at the thought of another victim, angry and alone. Something inside him felt this was the day he would win, the day the most powerful miraculous of the eternity would be his.

"Ah, this sweet girl's friend has betrayed her. A pity isn't it?" He spoke to his butterflies as they slowly fluttered around his dark cavern. "My little akuma, go forth and turn this New Year's around in my hands!" The once white butterfly shifted to glow a faint purple. The akuma flapped its wings as it soared through the window, off to turn Alya into a horrible villain. If it had worked its magic on her once, it was bound to make her transform once again.

Clutching the small charm on her necklace, which had matched Marinette's, Alya felt a strange coolness spread over her entire body and she heard the soothing voice of Paris's most feared man in her head. It was echoing words of power, and revenge. She heard the man explain his offer, power for a small piece of jewelry, and decided, against the small voice of reason screaming in her head, to accept.

"Hawkmoth, I'm glad to accept your offer. Marinette will pay for her cruelty to our friendship!" Swirling purple and black washed over her as she weakend, succumbing to the sadness and anger in her aching chest. She felt power, more than she could have ever dreamed of, coursing through her veins.

"Now then Alya, you are Kanashimi, and Marinette will regret her mistakes for the rest of her life."

"Yes, Hawkmoth!" A sleek, dark blue and grey bodysuit began to form to Alya's figure. A silver pendant with a black crystal in the center grew to the chest of her suit, along with her hair shifting a salt and peppery pixie cut. With that Kanashimi shapeshifted, her signature power, into an elegant raven, and started towards the window, and proceeded to fly out towards the nearest liquor store. It was all a part of her elaborate plan to get her revenge on the one she once called a friend.

Marinette had been awkwardly bouncing around all evening, hoping to at least learn why Adrien wouldn't come to the party. Max said he didn't feel well, but Chloe insisted he was definitely going to show up. However, Rose pointed out he was always late and with most of the time extremely strange excuses, which was, sadly enough, true. Little did she know, her love was only sulking, for mere hours ago his Ladybug rejected him, atop the roof of a nearby building. Adrien was used to disappointment, but Chat Noir was tough and strong. The main issue was that right now, he could feel nothing but loneliness.

While all of this was playing out, Kanashimi had snuck into a small liquor store and successfully stolen a bottle of vodka, disguising herself as a thirty year old man. With alcohol in hand, she became an small, dirty, homeless child and snuck back to the Bourgeois hotel. Once inside, she became an average teenger and started milling around at the party, eventually going over to the unattended punch bowl and pouring a very generous dose of vodka into one glass. Kanashimi discreetly changed into her original form, and slid over to Marinette.

"Hey, Mari." She whispered sweetly, "I know we were a bit mad at each other earlier, but I wanted to make it up to you. Here, I brought you some punch."

"Aw, thanks, Alya." Marinette answered. She then looked Kanashimi straight in the eye and said, "I'm so sorry. I should have just got over it." She gladly took the punch from 'Alya's' hand and took a small sip, twisting her face in a disgusted manner.

' _Yes, this is perfect. After she goes soaring, Ladybug will surely turn up.'_ Kanashimi thought as she went through her plans she had made up beforehand.

"Hey, do you want to go up to the roof and get some air? You aren't looking so good."

Marinette nodded slowly as she happily agreed to this proposal, and the two of them made their way to the roof via elevator. Marinette had been sipping away at her drink, getting more and more woozy with each swallow of vodka. The air on the roof was clear and fresh, yet cold and dry. It was almost pitch black, like the soul of an akuma, which was perfect in the next part of Kanashimi's operation. At this point, Marinette had been through her entire glass of spiked punch and she could hardly stand up on her own. She had never ingested that much alcohol before, and her body couldn't properly react.

"Marinette, let's move toward the edge, okay?" Kanashimi asked with an evil grin.

"Okay! That *hic* sounds great Alya!"

The pit of the Parisian street welcomed the two of them from below. Kanashimi pulled Marinette to the edge of the roof, glancing down. The cobblestone was silent, but deadly.

"Mari, do you ever really want to do something that you know you'll regret? Something that can wreck lives and hurt others?"

Marinette simply shook her head, unable to put together words.

"I'm about to do something that could ruin _everything_. The last piece of the puzzle is right here, in my hands." As Marinette's body weight sunk into Kanashimi's arms, she turned the girls head toward her, changing back into her blue suit. "Are you ready to fly, honey? 1, 2, 3, have fun!" She threw Marinette's body over the side of the roof, watching as she rushed toward the dark abyss of the street.

Chat Noir was sitting on a roof close to the hotel when he saw two shapes on the top of a nearby building. One of them, most likely a girl, was holding another girl in her arms, walking towards the edge of the roof. Looking closer, he realized it was two of his classmates, Alya and Marinette to be precise. As they got closer and closer to the edge, he became worried and moved a few building closer, just in case something happened.

A few moments later, Alya said something to the stumbling girl as she caught her in her arms. They were extremely close to the edge now. That was when he knew something was not right. He started moving closer and closer as Alya had transformed into another girl, with a strange blue and gray spandex costume, and pushed Marinette off of the roof. He was practically flying, it was a race between him and gravity, and thankfully, he had won. He just barely caught the poor girl right before she hit the pavement of the street.

Above, he saw the strangely but elegantly dressed villain yell something about vengeance. Kanashimi jumped and transformed to a falcon mid air, soaring toward Chat Noir as he picked up Marinette and sprinted toward her house. After a moment, Kanashimi stopped chasing them and paused.

"It doesn't matter!" she yelled after him. "Her parents will still make her suffer for all of the vodka she's ingested!" She laughed maniacally and ran the other way. Chat Noir realized she was right, and he panicked a little.

"Don't worry, Marinette. I'll get you home. We're going to go through the door on your balcony to your bedroom so your parents don't see you like this, alright?" Marinette simply giggled and mumbled something incoherent in response.

He ran to to her balcony and with a flourish of movements, landed on the solid ground. Chat Noir gently opened the door in the floor and climbed down the ladder to Marinette's room. ' _I can't leave her here like this. She'll end up hurting herself or something.'_

"Marinette," he whispered softly into her ear , "I'm going to stay for a bit, okay? Just until you fall asleep, but stay nice and quiet."

He laid her down on her pink bed, careful not to drop her onto the floor. She murmured something, and Chat leaned closer to hear her.

"It's too hot." She stated. "I can't sleep in this. I'm too hot, Chat Noir." Without warning, she stumbled to the middle of the room and shed her sequined top, so Chat could see she was wearing a pink, lacy bra. It disturbed him a bit, so he turned away slightly, blushing intensely. She then went towards her bed, almost falling over, barely making it, and fell asleep. She kept turning in her sleep, and he gently stroked her hair, which surprisingly calmed her. After an hour, he was sure he could leave her and Chat Noir left Marinette's room swiftly heading towards his own home for the night.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author 1: Hi there everyone! Sorry that it's been so long since we updated. It wasn't my fau-**

 **Author 2: Um, yes it was. Hello everyone! I'm the second author. We have lives (believe it or not) so we are going to have updates freakishly randomly. Like, really randomly.**

 **Author 1: Actually, I'm the only one with a life here. Author 2 sits at their house all day.**

 **Author 2: NOW YOU HOLD ON JUST A MINU-**

 **Author 1: Enjoy the chapter! We don't own Miraculous Ladybug btw in case any of you were wondering,**

"Tikki…" Marinette groaned as she woke up, " Why do I feel so awful? I feel like I got hit by a car or something." Marinette's kwami floated towards her, explaining the gist of last night's events.

"There was a super villain disguised as Alya, and she spiked your drink with alcohol! She led you to the roof and…" Tikki hesitated.

"What, Tikki?"

"She attempted to push you off the roof." Marinette stared at the ceiling eyes wide with fright, unable to process that she almost died. "But then Chat Noir came in and saved you before you hit the ground. I'm sorry, Marinette, but I couldn't save you. It would risk your secret identity being revealed!"

Marinette simply shook her head. "It's alright, Tikki. I just don't get why I hurt so much, all over the place." Naturally, Marinette was intensely hungover, but neither she nor Tikki knew this.

"There's no time to worry about that. You've got to be at that cafe in a half hour to meet Alya for breakfast!"

Marinette slowly rose from her bed, every nerve in her body crying out in pain. She looked to her window and was nearly blinded by the morning sky, which was as bright as the sun itself. After getting dressed and grabbing a pair of sunglasses, she walked with purpose towards her and Alya's favorite cafe.

To Marinette's surprise, Alya hadn't arrived yet, which was strange considering Marinette was already late. She waited for about an hour, texting and calling her friend furiously, but Alya never picked up. Eventually, sadly enough, Marinette gave up and started for home. All of a sudden, she looked towards the sky and saw a weird looking bird that looked a bit like a walrus, one she had never seen before. Marinette stood and stared at the bird, when it abruptly landed in front of her and shifted into a girl in a blue suit. Marinette knew this must have been another of Hawkmoth's victims.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng!" Her voice was oddly similar to Alya's. "You are a horrible human being and I intend to make you regret it!" The villain changed into a dangerous looking tiger and lunged toward Marinette. Running into the nearest alley at full speed, Marinette consulted her Kwami.

"Tikki, I don't have the strength to be Ladybug right now and that girl is after me! What do I do?" Tikki thought for a moment, and then her eyes lit up.

"Why not just turn into Ladybug to call Chat Noir, and ask for his help protecting Marinette and he'll come save the day!"

"Perfect! Alright Tikki, spots on!" With those words, Marinette's clothes changed from her casual white t-shirt to a black and red superhero suit, complete with an (almost useless) mask to conceal her true identity. Ladybug then pulled out her yoyo and swiped the screen, which resulted in a call to Chat Noir.

Meanwhile, across Paris, Adrien sat at his piano, solemnly pressing keys. His mind raced with thoughts of the previous night; he had gotten virtually no sleep because of his interaction with Marinette.

"I don't understand Plagg." Adrien said to his kwamii, a small cat. "Who would want to hurt Marinette? And where was Ladybug?" His mind was swirling with questions.

Adrien decided he didn't want to lie around feeling pitiful so he found a piano song from YouTube and put it to replay for a few hours, knowing his father would mistake it for his own playing, and transformed to Chat Noir. He opened the window and lept to the rooftops, finding a spot to think.

Once he found somewhere peaceful, Chat Noir heard his staff making a beeping noise, signaling a call from Ladybug.

"Hello, m'lady. Why ever did you call me on this purr-fect afternoon?"

Ladybug merely rolled her eyes and explained the current issue. "There's an akuma victim going after Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I need you to come to the bakery that she goes to a lot and protect her for a bit. I assume you know what bakery I'm talking about."

Chat Noir smiled lovingly. "Don't worry Ladybug, I've got this." He raced to where Ladybug said to go, and as soon as he arrived he saw a flustered looking Marinette hiding in an alleyway.

"Chat Noir! I'm so glad you're here. I was so scared! There was a walrus and-"

"Don't fret, Marinette." He said, reassuring her she was safe, "Ladybug already told me what's happening and sent me here to protect you. Speaking of which, where did Ladybug go?"

Marinette answered quickly, "I don't know. She called you and then I turned around and she wasn't there anymore!"

Chat Noir's eyes widened and he stumbled backward a little bit. Quickly shaking it off, he turned to Marinette again. "Alright, we need to get you somewhere where the walrus won't find you."

He swiftly picked her up and ran to her house, consulting Marinette's parents as they walked through the door to their bakery.

 **Author 1: Sorry for the shortness of the chapter...**

 **Author 2: See you next time!**


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